Soroptimist International Chesterfield & District branch president Jean Spencer welcomed members and their guests to supper at the Ringwood Hall Hotel, followed by a talk by Fr Terry Doherty, the founder of Hope Springs Recovery Centre.

Hope Springs is based at Springwell House, Newbold Road, and was opened in December 2012. In a little over six months it has had an overwhelming demand for its services. It supports people on the road to recovery from drug or alcohol dependency with love, hope and respect and in a non-judgemental way. The centre offers one to one counselling, group therapy, an eight-week course on mindfulness, peer support groups and an informal drop-in service. There is also complimentary holistic therapies available, such as Tai Chi, Yoga, Reiki, art therapy and a‘Well man’ and ‘Well women’ clinics. It also supports relatives and friends of those affected by addiction and friends are able to go to the centre on a daily basis if necessary. The centre is open Monday to Friday 10am-4pm and Saturday 10.30am-1.30pm.

Fr Terry explained that Hope Springs is one of only 20 centres of this kind in the UK and the only one in Derbyshire. It is totally funded by donations and grants and all its workers are volunteers.

Linda Moore thanked Fr Terry for his interesting and informative talk and a cheque was presented to him by Simone Smith on behalf of SI Chesterfield and District.